Apple’s latest mobile launch is the iPhone 11 Pro. The smartphone launched on 10th September 2019. The phone comes with a 5.80-inch touchscreen display. The new Apple has a resolution of 1125 pixels by 2436 pixels at a PPI of 458 pixels per inch.
Apple’s latest iPhones pack plenty of improvements. They’re more durable, they’re faster and their cameras are much more capable. At $699, the iPhone 11 is even cheaper than last year’s iPhone XR, at its $749 starting price. Yet one thing hasn’t changed: All new iPhones start with 64GB of storage space.
Apple’s storage issue
You can even argue that local storage is an antiquated system, in an era where we stream music and movies and save photos in cloud. It’s a valid argument if you’re constantly uploading your photos to Google Photos or iCloud. And are always connected to the internet to stream YouTube, Netflix, Spotify or Apple Music.
But most people don’t do that and plenty prefer the option to have music and photos at the ready whenever they want them. Apple Arcade will soon have a hundred games at the ready.
Two years ago Apple bumped up the storage on the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X to a 64GB minimum — a welcome upgrade from the prior base option of 32GB (which itself took years to reach).
Google‘s current Pixel phones start out at 64GB like iPhones. But at least the search giant gives in unlimited Google Photos storage. It is at the original quality for free with the purchase of its premium Pixel 3 phone. Apple’s iCloud starts at 99 cents per month for 50GB of storage, offering only a minuscule 5GB for free.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why iPhone storage has remained at 64GB.
Even with Apple’s compression software, it remains to be seen how much space those new modes, and the improved 4K video capture, will take up. On the iPhone XS Max, a minute of 4K video at 60 frames per second uses up 400MB of space.
Other brands capacity to that of Apple
And if that isn’t enough, there is also a competitive argument. Not only is 128GB now the standard among iPhone 11 and 11 Pro rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note 10 lines or OnePlus‘7 Pro, but the higher capacity has become the baseline for cheaper midrange devices. Besides, Motorola‘s new One Zoom, which retails for $450, starts at 128GB.
Jumping up to 128GB on the iPhone 11 is a small deal. However, Apple only charges $50 to do it, seemingly presenting it as a “no-brainer” for those planning to drop hundreds of dollars on a phone they’ll hold onto for years.
But it’s time for Apple to remove that bar. And make 128GB the new standard.
